Thich Nhat Hanh, poet, Zen master, and chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace delegation during the war, was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thomas Merton described him as "more my brother than many who are nearer to me in race and nationality, because he and I see things in exactly the same way."

The author of Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire, the Miracle of Mindfulness!, A Guide to Walking Meditation, and many other works, Nhat Hanh lives in exile in France where he continues his writing, teaching, gardening, and helping refugees worldwide. In this book of lectures to American peace activists and students of meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh thoroughly discusses the importance of being peace in order to make peace.

Every day we do things, we are things, that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our lifestyle, our way of consuming, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment we are alive.

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.